Vermont bounced back from a 3-1 defeat Saturday night at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes and defeated the Harvard Crimson, 3-1, at Gutterson Fieldhouse. This was the final game of the annual Catamount Cup. Ohio State defeated Army 5-3 earlier today in the 4 p.m. game of the tournament and was named the champion of the Catamount Cup.
Two four-on-four goals were scored by the Catamounts in the win. Senior captain Kevan Miller and senior assistant captain Kyle Medvec recorded goals for Vermont, along with freshman Connor Brickley. Junior Alex Killorn tallied the goal for Harvard.
“I want to congratulate Vermont, I thought they played hard, I thought their goaltender was excellent and you know I thought they bounced back from their game last night and played an excellent game,” said Harvard coach Ted Donato. “We took ourselves off of two power plays. I think that was really the difference in the game ultimately, with them getting two four-on-four goals.”
“I thought the best thing about our game tonight was that our third period was our best period; I thought we played well for stretches throughout the game, but I thought we played to win in that third period,” Vermont coach Kevin Sneddon said.
In the game’s opening period, Harvard senior Michael Biega got the puck out to senior Matt McCollem in front of the Vermont net. McCollem’s shot didn’t make it past Vermont junior goalie Rob Madore though, and the game remained scoreless.
Vermont was also unable to get on the board in the first period. The Catamounts failed to score on the period’s only two power-play opportunities.
Vermont sophomore Anders Franzon was called for a holding penalty at 10:40 of the second period. Harvard junior Daniel Moriarty joined Franzon shortly after at 11:25 for tripping.
With a player from each team in the penalty box, Vermont kicked off the scoring for the evening. Miller sent a slap shot into the back of the Harvard net from the right circle, beating senior goaltender and assistant captain Kyle Richter at 12:30.
Vermont senior Jack Downing tried to add to his team’s lead as players from both teams crowded close to the Harvard net. Downing’s shot didn’t make it past Richter though.
The same was not true for Medvec shortly after at 17:10. While Vermont senior Wahsontiio Stacey and Harvard senior co-captain Chris Huxley were serving simultaneous unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, Medvec shot the puck under the legs of Richter and into the back of the net from the edge of the left circle. This gave the Catamounts a 2-0 lead, which carried into the third period.
The Catamounts increased their lead to 3-0 at 4:59 of the third period. Richter was juggling the puck for a moment as it was in the air, but soon the puck fell away from Richter and Brickley swatted it over the goal line while the puck was still above the ice.
Killorn tried to retaliate soon after and shot the puck near the Vermont net. Madore made a sprawling save though and stretched the length of the net to make the stop.
Killorn prevailed though at 12:25 and got a goal back for Harvard when he scored from the right circle.
The Catamounts answered almost immediately after with a goal from senior Josh Burrows, but the goal was reviewed by the officials and was disallowed. This left the score at 3-1.
“Even though that goal didn’t count, I thought it was a great response after they scored on the power play,” Sneddon said.
Biega picked up a late five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for hitting from behind at 18:09. This was the second time in two games that the Catamounts had a five-minute power play but the game ended before the penalty was fully served.
